IV&V • Assessment Services • Program and Project Management

False Economies Part II

A false economy is an action that saves money at the beginning but which, over a longer period of time, results in more money being spent or wasted than being saved. Let’s discuss a couple of common areas of false economies in project work.

Selecting team members based on price, not talent and experience. - Experienced project practitioners know that the spectrum of project talent is broad, very broad. Selecting team talent based on price is easy, and organizationally defensible. But it is always, let me repeat, ALWAYS a false economy. You can argue with me that, for example, a DBA is a commodity talent, but it is not my experience that it is so. The best ones are highly productive and effective.

By hiring mediocre talent, whatever you gain in lower fees at the outset will be outweighed later by lower productivity, higher risks of failure, rework and longer schedules. Always fight for selection of personnel based on the best available talent and the highest level of experience. It requires more time to vet and find the best talent, but it is worth the extra effort. Saves money in the long run.